Nine More Green Goats Go to Texas

19 October 2005

Railpower has announced the order of nine Green Goat hybrid switcher locomotives (earlier post) by three different companies in Texas. Kansas City Southern is ordering six (two for Dallas and four for Beaumont); Fort Worth & Western Railroad is ordering two; and Lubrizol in Houston, one.

This comes in addition to Union Pacific’s just announced order of 98 Railpower low-emissions and hybrid locomotives for use in UP’s Texas operations. (Earlier post.)

Funding for the hybrid switchers comes from clean air grants under the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan’s (TERP) contingency provisions. TERP is a comprehensive set of incentive programs aimed at improving air quality in Texas. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality administers TERP grants and other TERP financial incentives.

RailPower’s Green Goat hybrids provide fuel savings of 40% to 70% with reductions in NO_x and particulates of 80% to 90%. The road switchers ordered by UP are more powerful, and cut fuel use by less (some 20% to 40%), but still maintain the high level of NO_x and PM reduction.